Yamuna still covered with toxic foam as devotees gear up for Chhath Puja | Latest News Delhi
A thick layer of toxic foam continued to cover the Yamuna’s surface on Wednesday — a day before devotees take dip in water bodies as part of the Chhath Puja festival — with large chunks of froth seen floating past Kalindi Kunj, making mockery of efforts by Delhi’s agencies to reduce the pollution levels in the river.
The continued presence of the foam led to a blame game, with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) claiming that the froth was a result of discharge of silt from the Agra canal, while the Uttar Pradesh government dismissed the allegations.
Separately, the Delhi government issued a formal notification on Wednesday, declaring November 7 as a holiday.
The formation of toxic froth in the Yamuna is an annual phenomenon during winters, and experts say it is an indicator of high levels of untreated sewage and industrial pollutants in the river’s water.
Chhath Puja is a four-day festival celebrated by people from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh — popularly known as Purvanchalis, who number an estimated one third of Delhi’s population — and involves the offering of “arghya” by fasting devotees to the sun in knee-deep water on a designated day, which this year is November 7.
On Wednesday, a DJB official said they began sprinkling concentrated solutions of a silicone dioxide-based anti-foaming solution on October 21 to reduce frothing in the Yamuna.
“We are facing challenges on two fronts — the operation of the Kalindi Kunj barrage gate, which is leading to more churning of water and more frothing. Secondly, a large amount of silt had been discharged from the Agra canal after its cleaning before Diwali, which further added to the froth,” the official said.
The 540m Kalindi Kunj barrage is managed by the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department.
DJB has also set up a temporary laboratory to monitor the water quality parameters. The official quoted above explained that as per the water test results, samples up to the DND Flyway had a biochemical oxygen demand of 19-20 units, total suspended solids at 50 units, chemical oxygen demand around 50 units, and phosphates at 1.5 units.
“Foam is being collected in two reaction zones we have set up in the stretch. The water downstream of the barrage was much more polluted due to silt discharge and it is not meeting the parameters for bathing quality water,” the official claimed.
An official from the UP irrigation department said the DJB allegations were baseless. “The canal is closed for annual cleaning and maintenance every year between Dussehra and Diwali and there was nothing new in the operations,” the official said.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said it has become evident that the Atishi-led AAP government has failed to complete the preparations for Chhath.
“Both the Chhath committees and devotees are concerned as they need to offer “arghya” to the sun God from tomorrow afternoon, yet the ghats are still not ready by this evening,” he said.
The AAP did not immediately respond to Sachdeva’s comment, but the Delhi government’s stated position has been that the pollution in river has increased due to effluents being released by UP and Haryana — a charge that both neighbouring states have denied.
